A parking attendant slapped a ticket on a funeral limousine waiting to take a grieving family to a service.

Mourners and staff at the Caring Lady Funeral Directors in Blatchington Road, Hove, were shocked by what they said was gross insensitivity shown by the attendant.

Staff said he told them: "I don't care whose funeral it is, I just want it moved," before issuing a ticket.

Funeral director Teresa Baker said she was horrified when she found the £60 fine slapped on the windscreen.

Retired Major Keith Jeffery MBE, 58, attending the funeral of his aunt who lived in Brighton, said: "I didn't find out about the ticket until afterwards and when I did I was shocked.

"I couldn't believe the parking attendant could have been so heartless. He had no compassion at all.

"When I told my wife and mother and grandchildren they were equally distraught."

Mrs Baker said the limousine was parked outside in Blatchington Road on Monday with a horse-drawn hearse and two other limousines.

She said it was clear all three vehicles were part of the same funeral cortege.

Mrs Baker, 47, owner of the funeral directors, admitted the car was parked illegally but said issuing a ticket under the circumstances was disgusting.

She said she explained to the attendant the car would be leaving within quarter of an hour.

She asked for a few moments to see to another family who were in the reception.

But the parking attendant knocked on the door of the funeral directors and told staff to move the car.

When her colleague Jonathan Marr phoned Brighton and Hove City Council to complain he was told the parking attendant would be instructed not to issue a ticket.

But moments later they found the car had been fined.

Mrs Baker said: "The parking attendant was horrible. He had no compassion at all and didn't take the circumstances into account.

"When you consider what the car was doing it was most unreasonable. He said he would let it go and then we found a ticket. I was absolutely horrified.

"How would he have felt if this had happened at the funeral of one of his relatives?"

Mrs Baker removed the ticket before the family arrived. She said: "That is the last thing you need on a difficult day."

She said there had been countless occasions where she has seen other cars parked illegally without getting a ticket.

Mrs Baker said: "The limousine is not the easiest to park because it is longer than a normal car but we always try to park legally.

"I am so annoyed by this I am going to start taking pictures of all the cars parked illegally which haven't been given tickets.

"They are always on corners and double yellow lines and unsafe places, especially along London Road.

"I understand why the rules are there but there has to be a bit of leniency. We were not going to be there for long and we were not putting anyone in danger."

Mrs Baker has contested the ticket and is waiting for a response from the council.

She believes the parking attendant's over-zealous attitude is result of pressure to hit targets.

She said: "Brighton and Hove City Council has such a reputation for giving out high numbers of tickets are obviously making a lot of money from it. It would be interesting to see what happens to all that money."

A city council spokeswoman said: "Our parking attendants usually do try and exercise sensitivity around places such as funeral directors.

"It seems in this case the vehicle, which was a limousine rather than a hearse, had been parked in a pay and display bay for several minutes and the parking attendant may not have initially realised it was part of the funeral cortege."

However, a spokeswoman for NCP said: "Our photographs of this incident clearly show a car was parked in a pay and display bay without a valid ticket.

"We are disappointed to hear that the driver declined to purchase a 50p ticket.

"It would therefore appear that this was a valid penalty charge notice but if the driver feels it was wrongly issued they can appeal against it."